The National Population Council said this week that the prevalence of female genital mutilation (FGM) among teenage girls aged 15-17 dropped in Egypt from 74 percent to 61 percent from the years 2008-2014. The health ministry, along with the National Population Council released the numbers in conjunction of the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation. According to the United Nations, the global number of women and girls who have undergone FGM has reached 200 million. In 2014, according to the population health survey, FGM in Egypt stood at 92 percent among married girls between the ages of 15-49. In June 2017, a mother of a 17-year old girl was detained by authorities pending investigations into allegations that she subjected her daughter to female genital circumcision, resulting to her death.

Source: Egypt Independent February 19, 2018 15:00 UTC